Armand Street opened Thursday after being closed for more than a year. And, as the city gleefully reports, ahead of schedule!

We're not project managers, and we certainly do not know the scope of construction involved in making that two-lane road a five-lane road.

But we do have long memories, and we know projects like the Forsythe Extension were completed in record time because the contractor had a financial incentive to finish early. That one involved crossing a wetlands and building up a stable road base.

Extended contracts - we're thinking about long projects that business owners have complained about in West Monroe and West Ouachita, for instance - provide governments with a lower cost because the contractor has the ability to juggle work and maximize profit based not only on what needs to be done next, but what the weather allows to be done next.

Unfortunately, in all of this, the businesses along the route never really understand how they might be impacted. Yes, there is a public review process, but people involved do not tend to pay attention until, holy cow, their business entrance is blocked for a year.

That's been the case for basically a half-mile stretch of Armand. While there are "get arounds" for those of us who know the city, that's unfortunately a stretch of property that contains physicians' offices and business offices that have basically been impassible except for those who know the side streets or get "special directions" like cutting through a hole in the fence at Strauss Theatre.

We're not sure that that those impacted - whether through their own lack of attention to the public processes that every project goes through or whether the city failed to appropriately notify them - really knew that access to their business could be interrupted for roughly 18 months under terms of this contract?

Who in their right mind would agree to that?

Were the business owners blissfully unengaged with the notices they received about the project or were they not fully informed of the length of the project? And, did anybody bother to knock on their doors and let them know in person what the impact to their business might be?

This segment of the Tower-Armand Connector is essential to the continued development of our community. It will enhance the growth that already has occurred along that corridor. No doubt about that.

But in a smart growth community, we would first of all consider business interruption and design projects that minimized that instead of opting for the cheapest price. The buyback of lost business and lost tax revenue should be part of the equation when we are considering a long-term bid in terms of time for completion.

We're not sure, but we think we would have heard something from the folks in that half-mile stretch if they knew in advance the access to their businesses might be closed or limited for up to 18 months.

The contract-length process is flawed and deserves examination. Lowest is not always best when business impact is considered.